


The Parting Glass

by TongueTiedRaven



Series: Blue Exorcist One Shots [2]
Category: Ao no Exorcist | Blue Exorcist
Genre: Drinking, Friendship, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Traditions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-25
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:15:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27704003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TongueTiedRaven/pseuds/TongueTiedRaven
Summary: It probably would not have become a tradition if it wasn’t for the Blue Night.Then again, Tatsuma wouldn’t have met Shirou if it hadn’t been for the Blue Night.They’d found a rough bar to meet in. There were only so many places the snootier of the True Cross members would enter. Shirou seemed to take great pride in picking the nastiest place out.They had a decent lager so Tatsuma was fine with it.Shirou came in, bags under his eyes, silver hair messy and his glasses lopsided on his crooked nose. “Fuck.” He'd grunted. Tatsuma passed him a lager and raised his eyebrow.“Yeah, been a hell of a year.” He took a long swallow of his own beer and let Shirou have a moment to collect himself. His friend downed the entire lager and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.“I have twins.” Shirou muttered and blinked at the questionably clean counter. “How the hell did that happen?”
Relationships: Suguro Tatsuma & Fujimoto Shirou
Series: Blue Exorcist One Shots [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2034115
Comments: 16
Kudos: 34





	The Parting Glass

_ But since it has so ought to be  
By a time to rise and a time to fall  
Come fill to me the parting glass  
Good night and joy be with you all _   


* * *

He’d known Shirou for a few months when they did it the first time. It probably would not have become a tradition if it wasn’t for the Blue Night.

Then again, Tatsuma wouldn’t have met Shirou if it hadn’t been for the Blue Night. He also would not have had his beautiful Torako or his precious Ryuuji if not for Shirou.

God help him, but he’d trade what he had lost for Torako and Ryuuji any day.

They’d found a rough bar to meet in. There were only so many places the snootier of the True Cross members would enter. Shirou seemed to take great pride in picking the nastiest place out.

They had a decent lager so Tatsuma was fine with it. 

Shirou came in, bags under his eyes, silver hair messy and his glasses lopsided on his crooked nose. He looked a lot rougher than when Tatsuma had seen him in Kyoto. 

The  _ Paladin _ flopped into the seat next to Tatsuma and rested his arms on the bar. 

“Fuck.” He grunted. Tatsuma passed him a lager and raised his eyebrow. 

“Yeah, been a hell of a year.” He took a long swallow of his own beer and let Shirou have a moment to collect himself. His friend downed the entire lager and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

“I have twins.” Shirou muttered and blinked at the questionably clean counter. “How the hell did that happen?”

Tatsuma carefully hid his smile. “I knew you wouldn’t kill them.” He took another swig. “You got a promotion too.” He eyed him. He could see the evidence of drool on his collar. His friend had turned into a parent overnight. His friend looked  _ tired _ and not just ‘I have babies’ tired. Tatsuma was well aware of that kind of tired. Ryuuji was precious and fierce and everything he’d wanted but he was also already proving to be a handful and he was hardly half a year old. He was going to be such a firecracker.

He ordered another drink and tried not to think of fire. His life had become consumed by flame in recent months. 

“Twins.” Shirou muttered and Tasuma was smiling again. “The hell do I know about kids?”

“Absolutely nothing. That’s typically the way it goes.” 

Shirou snatched the fresh glass up. He eyes Tatsuma. “You don’t have to look quite so smug.” 

Tatsuma shrugged and swallowed a mouthful of the beer. “I was right about the sword.” He fiddled with the napkin. “I was wrong about a lot of other stuff.”

Shirou slumped forward a little. “We both were.”

“Ain’t that the way?”

His friend snorted. “Yeah. Hell of a price to pay though.” The  _ Paladin _ \- that was never not going to be a weird thought - motioned for the bar keeper. “Two shots of sake, please. Whatever’s cheap and strong.” The bartender nodded and shuffled off to get their new order.

“Ryuuji doin’ alright.”

“Yeah,” and the smile was back, however sad it might be. He owed so much to Shirou. “He’s good. Konekomaru and Renzou are as well. It was a little touch and go there but… yeah. They’re all good.”

“We got old overnight.” Shirou snorted. 

“You’ve been gray since I’ve known you and you’re still not old.” He exhaled and took another sip. It didn’t hit as hard as he wanted it to. The blue glow from the neon light outside was still making his palms sweaty. He needed something stronger. 

The bartender set to shots in front of Shirou. His friend passed him one. The priest exhaled and looked at it for a long moment. Tatsuma sat still and waited for whatever he needed to say. At least he couldn’t see the blue lights when he looked at Shirou.

“To the ones that beat us to the end.”

He clinked his glass against Shirou’s and downed the shot. The burn was welcome and distracted, however briefly, from the memory of flames.

* * *

It became a thing. He didn’t expect it to, but it was a tradition by the time Ryuuji was six. He’d sneak away from the temple and the pressure (so much pressure. He’d never be his father and he couldn’t hold it all together like his father.) and go to the dirtiest bar he could find. He’d meet the  _ Paladin _ there and they’d catch up. They shared what information they’d gleamed through the year and swap parenting tips. 

And then they’d end the night with drinking to the fallen. There always seemed to be someone, even if there were never as many as that first year. 

“They’re going to make me lose my sanity. Yukio is smart and Rin is fearless. Do you have any idea what kind of shit they can get into?”

Tatsuma laughed and motioned for another cup. “Yeah, it’s horrible. I’ve got a temple full’a monks and I can’t keep mine in check.”

“It never ends.” Shirou grinned and rested his head in his arm. “Rin’s trying to learn how to cook.”

“What?”

Shirou nodded. “I saw him messing with eggs the other day. Don’t think he has any idea how they work yet.” 

Ryuuji was chanting. He’d caught his baby boy trying to repeat the mantras and god… it scared him. He didn’t want his precious child involved in this madness.

“It’s scary. That kid shouldn’t be allowed near a stove.”

He choked around his drink and had to set it down. He sputtered into his sleeve and Shirou just grinned. Useless friend. He caught his breath and shook his head. 

“Kids ‘n flames are always a dangerous combo.” 

(Ryuuji in front of the endless flame. Please, someone, keep him safe from all of that.)

Shirou’s phone rang loudly. He sat up and stared at it distastefully. “Guess it’s gonna be a short one tonight.” He motioned for the bartender and ordered their customary shots. 

It was Tatsuma’s turn for the toast. “To friends long gone.”

Shirou nodded. “To friends long gone.”

It still burned, but less than it used to.

* * *

They met through all the changes. Shirou heard about his intentions to join True Cross and looked torn between acceptance and sorrow. He learned about Yukio’s new career path and felt his heart break for the difficult life ahead of the child. 

Rin continued to be a wild card every year saw new wrinkles on their faces. They were too young to look so old. He still felt the fire of defiance in himself and he could see it burning in Shirou’s heart. They were living with what they had been given. They’d been trapped in a million different ways but they wouldn’t give up. 

Their gambits were getting more dangerous and the list was growing long again. Tatsuma could feel the changes in the air. Shirou could feel it as well. It was obvious in his tired eyes.

The last time they met together Ryuuji was fifteen and the twins were fourteen. 

It was colder than usual and Shirou looked  _ so _ tired.

“Ryuuji is going to True Cross.” He muttered the words into his glass and tried not to glare at the liquid. His son refused not to be tied to the burdens that controlled Tatsuma’s life. His stupid, stubborn, brilliant, precious, child would not hear reason. Somehow he got both their bullheadedness. He offered a mental prayer for whoever Ryuuji’s future spouse was. His boy was going to be a handful.

Shirou swirled his drink around. “He’ll probably have some classes with Yukio.” 

It was a brilliant way of saying everything and nothing. They had to be careful now. Traditions made it easier for people to catch on. They’d been doing this long enough that someone had to have noticed. There were probably a few spies littering about. 

Ha. Spies. What a weird life he led.

The air felt different this time. He couldn’t quite pinpoint it but… it was heavier. There was a certain knowing he wasn’t comfortable with. Too many pieces were lining up. Yukio… Rin… The Illuminati… Ryuuji…

It all had an air of manipulation. He hated being played. He was determined to fight one way or another but damn it, he would spare as much of his family as he could. It was his burden, not theirs.

Shirou downed his entire glass in a long swallow. He noticed Tatsuma watching and offered him a cheeky grin. “Can’t let you beat me this year.”

The conversation came easy after that. He found out about the classes his friend taught (maybe he could tame Ryuuji) and that Rin still had no idea about anything. He told about the temple and how the inn was thriving. He made a vague mention about the Illuminati and that caught his friend’s attention. His tired eyes narrowed and he wondered what pieces the  _ Paladin _ (it had been a decade and it was still weird to think this irreverent man was the paladin) was putting together.

“Last call!” The barkeeper shouted after what felt like no time at all. Shirou hastily ordered two shots. 

They’d moved past words for the final toast. It was just a shared look, a nod of respect and memory, and a drink. He set the glass down and stood up a little unsteadily. Shirou rose smoothly and shrugged on his coat. The True Cross pendant hung from his lapel and Tatsuma couldn’t look away from it for a long moment. 

He was suddenly scared and he wasn’t certain why. “Shirou?” He swallowed. “Promise me somethin’?”

Shirou turned his head just enough to see him. “Yeah?”

“Whichever us is left standing when it’s over… Have a drink for the other.”

Shirou’s smile was sad and a little too aware. “The parting glass? Little sentimental, ain’t it?”

Tatsuma shrugged and tugged his scarf on. “You know I’ve never bought that act.”

“Yeah,” Shirou murmured and downed his drink. Tatsuma accepted it for the promise it was.

* * *

It was a year later and there was no list. There was just a glass and a dirty bar. Tatsuma stared at it and tried to remember all the names. There was only one he could think of. Only one that really seemed important after everything.

He ordered a shot and tried not to look at the empty seat beside him. He didn’t believe in heaven or hell and if  _ anyone _ deserved to find Nirvana and be free from this cycle it was Shirou. He doubted his friend had managed it though. Maybe he’d get a less eventful life next time. 

The shot was set down in front of him. He passed the man a few yen and considered the shot glass.

One last drink. One final farewell. He lifted the glass only to set it right back down. There were a thousand chants swirling around in his head and they were all wrong. Shirou would think it was all too sentimental. He'd laugh and tell some joke. He'd tell a story about some crazy shenanigan the twins had done. He'd laugh at Ryuuji's determination to be the head priest despite Tatsuma's best efforts and he'd probably find it amusing how utterly poorly his plans had gone. He'd buy him another drink. 

Tatsuam stood up stiffly and grabbed the shot once more. “Good luck, friend.” He downed it and set it next to his unfinished lager. “May you find peace.”

He left the bar and headed back to the inn and his family.

* * *

_ Of all the comrades that e'er I had  
They're sorry for my going away  
And all the sweethearts that e'er I had  
They'd wish me one more day to stay  
But since it falls unto my lot  
That I should rise and you should not  
I gently rise and softly call  
Good night and joy be to you all _

**Author's Note:**

> This is an idea that will not leave me alone. I might come back to it at some point and expand it but for now I'm just putting it out here so I can think about something else.


End file.
